


The Reckoning

by 4thofFive



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-17
Updated: 2013-02-17
Packaged: 2017-11-29 15:40:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/688627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4thofFive/pseuds/4thofFive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny meets a dark figure from his past.<br/>WARNING: Brief description (not overly graphic) of child sexual abuse</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Reckoning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [simplyn2deep](https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplyn2deep/gifts).



> Word count: 9,970

The Reckoning

Like an apparition Steve appeared out of the billowing clouds of smoke pouring from the building where a meth lab had once been housed. The SEAL had a huge grin on his face and looked like a kid who’d been let loose in a toy store – only in Steve’s case it would be a toy store stocked with grenade launchers and machine guns.

Danny, who was leaning against the Camaro having wisely removed himself from the smoke-filled building several minutes ago – shook his head hopelessly. His partner was an adrenaline junkie who loved explosions and who had zero self-preservation instinct. 

“You’re sick in the head, you know this,” announced Danny matter-of-factly as Steve wandered over to lean against the car beside him. “We could have taken down this lab without the pyrotechnics Steven. Not every arrest has to end with gun fire or flames licking at our heels.”

The Commander rolled his eyes but nodded good-naturedly. When they first started working together Danny rants had driven him crazy. Now he realized they were his partner’s way of expressing his affection.

“Yes Danno. Sorry Danno.”

Danny stood up straight and turned to shake an admonishing finger in his friend’s face.

“Don’t ‘yes Danno, sorry Danno’ me. I know you don’t mean it. You love this shit,” Danny threw an arm out to encompass the burning building with firefighters and police scurrying around it. “I’m starting to think that along with your other mental problems you’re also a pyromaniac.”

Steve grinned again, his teeth looking impossibly white against his smoke-smudged face.

“Come on Danno. Who doesn’t love an explosion? It’s frigging awe-inspiring,” Steve lifted his hands towards the heavens as if God himself would approve of the destruction he’d wreaked.

The blonde detective shook his head dismissively.

“The only thing I find awe inspiring since partnering up with you is when I get home alive and in one piece at the end of the day. That truly inspires awe in me.”

Steve chuckled as he crossed his arms over his chest. He knew Danny wasn’t really mad but the blonde detective had to find something to bitch about each day or he would fall into a coma or something, Steve wasn’t sure what would happen since he’d never experienced a day when Danny didn’t bitch.

Danny opened his mouth to continue on when a uniformed police officer walked over to him and cleared his throat pointedly.

“Detective Williams there is a man over in the crowd who says he knows you from New Jersey. He’s hoping you’ll come over and say hello.”

Danny turned to glance around at the crowd of gawkers and rubberneckers but couldn’t see anyone he recognized immediately.

“Where?” 

The young police officer pointed out a pudgy, brown-haired, slightly balding man in his early 50’s wearing a garish Hawaiian shirt and grinning at Danny happily.

The detective drew his eyebrows together. Something was familiar about the guy but from this distance he couldn’t be sure.

“Oh let’s go talk to him,” Steve crowed happily, rubbing his hands together in glee. “I want to meet one of your freakish Jersey Shore friends. Maybe he’ll have some embarrassing story about you that I can share with Chin and Kono.”

Steve bolted away and strode towards the man while Danny followed slowly behind him. He wracked his brain trying to remember the man not wanting to embarrass the guy by not knowing his name…maybe he was a friends of his father’s?

Danny stopped dead about five feet away from the older man and swayed on his feet. He swallowed hard feeling bile rising in his throat. His heart was pounding and he could feel rivulets of sweat running down his back.

The older man, who had already said hello to Steve, turned his attention to the blonde detective.

“Hi Danny,” he announced in his thick Jersey accent. “It’s good to see you again.”

Steve turned to grin at his partner but the smile slid from his face at how pale Danny had suddenly become.

“Danny?” Steve spoke worriedly.

The older Jersey man took a step towards the blonde cop who continued to stand as if rooted to the ground.

“Don’t you remember me Danny? I know it’s been a long time but it’s me, Mike Sherman.”

Danny swallowed again and opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out at first. His breath was coming in gasps as he fisted his hands at his side.

“What are you…why are you here?” his voice sounded strangled even to him.

Sherman’s smile never faded as he took another step towards Danny, his hand outstretched.

“I’m here on holidays. I didn’t know you lived here now. I stopped to see what all the commotion was about and I saw you standing there talking to your partner. I said to myself ‘that’s Danny Williams!’ I couldn’t believe it. The last time I saw you…”

He opened his arms as if to embrace the detective causing Danny to stagger backwards and put up a warning hand.

“No…stay away from me,” he hissed oblivious to the crowd and Steve watching him in shocked confusion. “You come near me again, you do anything to contact me and I’ll arrest your ass you got that?”

Sherman gave Danny a disappointed look.

“Oh Danny I’d hoped you’d gotten over what happened between us. It was a long time ago and I just did what I thought was right. Why are you still holding a grudge?” Sherman shook his head as if disappointed at Danny’s stubbornness.

Steve barely had time to react when Danny suddenly launched himself at Sherman grabbing the taller man around the throat and squeezing sending the older man stumbling backwards, his arms wind milling as he struggled to stay on his feet. 

“You stay the fuck away from me!” Danny shouted as he shook the older man who scrabbled at Danny’s muscular hands trying to release their iron grip.

“Danny!” Steve yelled, grabbing his partner around the shoulders and trying to pull him off Sherman. “Let him go Danny! Let him go!”

With a growl of rage, Danny let go of Sherman’s neck and pushed the other man away violently. He wrenched himself out of Steve’s grip then turned to stumble back towards the Camaro.

Steve watched him go for a moment then turned back to glare at Sherman.

“Who the fuck are you anyway?” he demanded. 

Sherman shook his head as he massaged his throat, his eyes watering from the pain.

“Stupid,” he croaked. “It was a long time ago. It was no big deal. I thought he’d be over it by now.”

Steve wanted desperately to drag this Sherman asshole into an interrogation room and grill him until he confessed what he’d done to Danny but he was worried about his partner and had to go find him. The SEAL stepped closer to Sherman and loomed over the man.

“I don’t know who you are or what you did to my partner but I better not ever see your face again or I’m going to make your life a miserable hell you got that?”

Sherman glanced up at Steve fearfully then looked away. He nodded.

Steve spun around and ran in the direction Danny had gone. His eyes scanned the chaotic area for a moment until he saw his partner a few yards away hunched against a pile of broken pallets near the side of the still burning building.

Steve approached slowly at first then picked up speed when he realized Danny was being violently sick on the pavement.

“Danny! Jesus Danny!” 

Steve came up behind his friend and grabbed the smaller man by the shoulders and held him tight as the detective’s body was wracked with wave after wave of retching. Steve felt his heart rise in his throat in fear. What the fuck had just happened?

Danny moaned softly then straightened up, Steve’s hands still holding him tightly. The detective wiped the back of one hand across his mouth then turned to slump down against the pile of pallets.

“I’m ok,” he choked out as he leaned forward and gripped his knees with his hands.

“The fuck you are,” Steve snapped back worry making his words sharper than he intended. “I’m going to take you to the hospital, get one of the docs to…”

“No!” Danny interrupted firmly, “No I’m ok, really. It was just…seeing him again…I shouldn’t have…I should have held it together.”

Steve grabbed Danny by the bicep and pulled the smaller man upright until their eyes met.

“Who is that guy Danny? Why did you react like that when you saw him?”

Danny shook his head firmly and dropped his eyes back down to the pavement.

“No one, he was…it was a long time ago…”

“Danny!”

“Steven!” Danny snapped back as he looked up to glare at his partner in sudden anger. “I don’t want to talk about it ok? Just leave it. I’m fine. Let’s go back to work ok?”

Steve examined his friend closely for a moment. He knew if Danny wasn’t ready to talk he wouldn’t but this incident had scared the shit out of the 5-0 commander. Danny may be a hot head but Steve had never seen him out of control.

“I think I should take you home,” Steve offered.

The Jersey native shook his head once more.

“No I don’t want to…I don’t need to go home. I’m fine now.”

“You’re sick Danny!”

The blonde man shook his head again and gave his partner a weak smile. He reached out to pat the taller man on the chest.

“No, I’m ok really. It must have been something I ate or…or the smoke maybe. I’m fine now. Let’s head back to the office. I can get cleaned up and brush my teeth.”

With that Danny turned and walked toward the car with an unsteady gait, Steve following slowly behind him. The Commander couldn’t imagine what had happened between Danny and this Sherman guy to make his partner react the way he did but he could only hope his best friend trusted him enough to tell him the story eventually.

“I’ll drive,” Steve called out as Danny approached the car. His partner rolled his eyes and flashed him a pained smile obviously trying desperately to act normal.

“When don’t you?”

 

**********

 

Steve watched Danny like a hawk for the rest of the day. The detective seemed determined to pretend nothing unusual had happened but Steve didn’t miss the tremor in Danny’s hand when he poured himself a cup of coffee or the way the detective stared at his blank computer screen for long minutes obviously sunk into his memories.

Several times Steve had attempted to draw his friend out including asking the blonde man to come back to his house for beer and take out Chinese food but he’d been gently rebuffed each time. Danny just gave him a forced smile and assured his friend he was alright and just tired. It was a very worried Steve who watched Danny leave the 5-0 offices later that afternoon. It took everything the SEAL had not to follow his friend back to his rented house but he knew Danny wouldn’t appreciate his hovering at the moment.

**********

 

Danny woke with a scream and sat bolt upright in bed, the sheets now tacky from the sweat pouring off his body. He struggled in vain to slow his breathing convinced he was suffocating. He kicked off the sheets that had wrapped around his legs and stumbled out of bed lurching into the living room to wrench open the front door and gulp in the cool night air. He felt his legs weaken and he lowered himself unsteadily to the front walk, his body folding up like a broken accordion. 

“Fuck! Fuck!” he gasped as the tears coursed down his face. It had been so long, so many years since the nightmares; since the clawing terror. He’s almost forgotten about it, he was certain he’d almost forgotten and then today…seeing that bastard again.

Danny squeezed his eyes shut and wrapped his arms around his torso slumping over until his forehead was almost resting on the ground. Jesus fuck he was a cop he shouldn’t be acting this way, shouldn’t be so weak. He wasn’t a helpless child anymore. 

A bird suddenly flew from a nearby tree with a loud squawk and Danny jerked back in nameless fear. He scrambled to his feet and fled into the house slamming the door behind him. The blonde man slumped against the door, his forehead resting on its frame as he felt his heart pounding in his chest. He knew he was being ridiculous. Knew he was safe and more than capable of defending himself but he felt helpless against the overwhelming fear that had gripped his heart and he suddenly couldn’t stand the thought of being alone for another moment. He had to get to safety. Had to get to the one place where he knew he would always be safe.

**********

Steve flopped onto his side again and punched the pillow under his head angrily as he struggled to relax and get to sleep, His mind was filled with images of Danny, of his tough guy partner pale and shaking, his eyes wide with fear and his muscular body convulsing with dry heaves. 

Despite Danny’s denials, seeing Sherman again had caused an almost primeval fear response in the detective and Steve was determined to find out why. If he found out that Sherman had hurt Danny…

The SEAL stiffened at the sound of a car crunching over the gravel in front of his house. He recognized the low growl of the Camaro and threw back the covers and hopped out of bed to quickly pull on a pair of sleep pants and a faded tee-shirt. Steve jogged downstairs and quickly punched in the code to switch off the alarm before throwing open the door to a pale, shaken Danny. The smaller man looked up at him almost nervously, his eyes haunted.

“I didn’t know where else to go,” the detective whispered brokenly.

Without a word Steve reached out and grabbed Danny by the bicep and gently pulled his friend into his house until the smaller man bumped up against his chest. Steve wrapped his arms around his best friend for a moment feeling the smaller man’s breath hitching with barely contained emotion. 

With a slight gasp Danny pulled out of Steve’s arms and took a step backwards folding his arms tightly on his chest, his eyes lost in the gloom of the darkened room.

“I just…” Danny began but Steve waved away his words not ready for Danny to sound apologetic for needing some support and comfort.

“You don’t need to say anything babe. You are always welcome here. I want you to come to me anytime, with anything, you know that.”

Danny nodded miserably as his chin dropped to his chest. Steve reached out for him again but the blonde man flinched and moved back slightly. Feeling unaccountably hurt but knowing he needed to take his cues from Danny, Steve took a step back and gestured toward the couch.

“Come and sit down ok? Do you want a beer or…?”

Danny moved quietly around his partner and walked over to perch rigidly on the edge of the couch.

“Just a glass of water…please.”

Steve nodded and began walking toward the kitchen. He paused briefly to bend down and switch on the nearby table lamp.

“No, please,” Danny begged softly. “Just…please leave it off.”

Steve froze for a moment at the strange request then nodded once more. With the full moon shining in the front window and a street light reflected out back, there was just enough light to see each other’s shadowy forms.

Steve hurriedly poured Danny a glass of water then returned to the room and set it on the coffee table in front of the smaller man before sitting down at the other end of the couch. He was careful to leave some distance between them while still remaining as close as possible.

The two men sat quietly for several long moments and Steve watched in concern as Danny’s hunched shadow seem to shrink in the darkened room.

“He was my scout master…” Danny began, the sound of his rasping voice seeming to darken the room even more. “I was 10 years old. He was…everybody loved him. Our parents all thought he was such a great guy, so good with children, so kind and understanding.” 

Steve sat silent and frozen as if any slight movement or sound on his part would frighten his partner away.

“My dad…he was a great guy but he worked a lot. When he wasn’t at the fire hall he picked up construction jobs on his days off – anything to bring extra money into the house. Mike was like a second dad in a way or maybe like a big brother. He was 17 years older than me but the age difference didn’t seem to matter. He was kind of like a big kid himself. He obviously loved hanging out with us.”

Danny shifted back slightly to lean against the backrest of the couch but his body remained stiff, as if he were bracing himself to flee at any moment.

“He seemed to like me best of all the boys,” Danny continued, his voice so quiet Steve had to lean forward slightly to hear him. “I remember how proud I was that he favoured me over the others. At the end of every meeting he used to get me to help put away equipment or help him tidy up the school gym. Sometimes he’d drive me home and we’d stop for ice cream or something.”

Danny swallowed so hard Steve could hear his throat clicking. The blonde man let out a shuddering breath.

“I adored him. I…I trusted him.”

Steve heard his own heart pounding in his ears as fear gripped his chest. He knew what was coming and part of him wanted to stop it, wanted to stop Danny’s words but he knew he couldn’t. He had to let Danny say this and he had to listen and try to understand.

“One night – it was the same as always – all the other boys had left and we were alone in the school. I was helping Mike put away the basketball equipment. We were putting things back onto the shelves of the little equipment room at the end of the gym. Suddenly the lights went out and Mike…he grabbed me from behind and pulled me against him. I couldn’t…I didn’t know what was happening at first and then I could feel it…” Danny quivered and wrapped his arms tighter around his torso.

“I could feel his erection pressing against my back,” the blonde man choked out. “I struggled to get away, I told him to stop but he was a grown man, an adult and I was just so small. He kept telling me he loved me. He told me I was beautiful, like an angel with my golden hair. He said he wanted to show me how much he loved me. He told me I would like it.”

“He turned me around and lifted me under the arms and began to kiss me. His mouth was wet and slimy and I screamed and began kicking at him. He slammed me against the shelves and began…” Danny let out a muffled sob and dropped his face into his hands.

Steve inched closer to his partner wanting desperately to put his arms around the smaller man but he knew it would be the worst thing to do.

“He began rubbing off against me. I screamed and fought. I cried out for help but no one heard. We were alone. He lowered me to the ground and shoved me into a corner and hemmed me in. He…he pulled down his pants and...and he pulled it out.”

Steve blinked back tears of horror and rage. He could feel the couch trembling from the spasms wracking Danny’s body.

“He grabbed my hand and put it on his…he held it in place and made me…” Danny released a strangled sob and began shaking his head slowly from side to side but nothing would stop the flow of words now.

“He…he came all over me…all over my scout uniform. I still remember…I’ll always remember the sound.”

“Oh Jesus Danny,” Steve whispered brokenly.

“He told me to keep my mouth shut. Told me no one would believe me. That I would get in trouble. That everyone would think I was a liar.”

Danny straightened up slightly and turned to glance at Steve then away, his tear-streaked face glittering in the low light of the room.

“I ran all the way home. It was dark and I was scared but I ran the 10 blocks home. When I got there I went to my room and tore off my uniform then turned on the shower as hot as I could stand it. I scrubbed myself raw with a scrub brush my mother used to clean the grout. I have no idea how long I was in there but I finally got out when the water went cold and my mother began banging on the door.”

“Did you…?” Steve had to clear his throat before he could speak again. “Did you tell your parents what happened?”

Danny shook his head.

“I couldn’t, not right away anyway. I was so ashamed, so disgusted at myself that I hadn’t been able to get away. So sickened about…”

Danny rubbed his hands down his face then wrapped his arms around his torso again.

“I stayed home for the next two days. It wasn’t hard to convince my mother I was sick since I threw up regularly every time I thought about…about him.”

Danny suddenly lurched to his feet and began pacing the room like a caged animal as if trying to walk away from the memories.

“When I got back to school the kids were talking about me…making comments like fag and queer. I had no idea what the hell they were talking about and why my friends had suddenly turned on me until I came home one day and my mother told me that Sherman had told the Scout leader for his district that he witnessed me making a homosexual advance on another boy.” 

Danny stopped pacing and stood in front of one of the living room windows staring blankly out into the dark Hawaiian night. He rested his forehead on the cool glass.

“They kicked me out of Scouts. At first I didn’t care, I was relieved since I was never, ever going back anyway but…the other kids they believed what Sherman had said. He made sure they all knew about his lie and…” Danny shook his head slowly. “They made my life hell.”

Steve tightened his hands into fists as he felt rage bubbling up inside him. If Danny didn’t need him so much at this moment Steve would happily have tracked Sherman down at whatever hotel he was staying in and put a bullet through the bastard’s head.

“Your parents?” Steve fought to keep his voice even. “Did you tell your parents?”

Danny swallowed hard and nodded, still unable to turn and look at Steve.

“I did finally. Oh God it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do but I couldn’t keep it inside anymore, couldn’t keep it hidden.”

“How did they react?” 

A small, sad smile quirked at the corner of Danny’s mouth as his eyes flooded with tears.

“They were amazing. They kept telling me it wasn’t my fault, that they loved me, that they were proud of me for fighting. They told me not to blame myself, that I’d done nothing wrong and had nothing to be ashamed of.”

Danny let out another sob and held one hand over his eyes. Steve sat silently knowing the story was not yet over.

“My father…he was friends with some of the cops in the neighbourhood. He talked to them. He wanted to press charges but…they talked him out of it. Said it would be Sherman’s word against mine, said people might believe the lie Sherman had spread about me. They said it would be better for me to let it drop.”

“Jesus Christ!” Steve blurted out as he jumped to his feet, his fists clenched and his body shaking with rage. “What kind of a fucked up attitude was that? They just wanted to let that fucking bastard walk?”

Danny nodded as he leaned more heavily into the window. Suddenly he felt so tired, like he could sleep for a week. All he wanted to do at this moment was crawl under a blanket and stay there.

“It was a different time. People didn’t understand. My parents…they wanted to press charges at first but then they got scared about what effect it would have on me. They didn’t want to put me through a trial, didn’t want me to have to face him and have to testify.”

Danny slowly stood up straight and turned to face Steve for the first time. The Commander’s heart lurched at the broken expression on his best friend’s face.

“We moved away. Dad got transferred to another fire hall and we moved to the other side of the city. My brother and my sisters and I all had to go to new schools. I remember how upset they were at having to change schools but my parents never told them why.”

Steve took a few tentative steps towards Danny, still afraid to get too close in case he spooked his traumatized friend.

Danny huffed out a mirthless laugh.

“Twenty-six years since I’ve seen that bastard. I went to therapy. I rebuilt my life. I became a cop, a husband and a father. Somehow I found my strength again. I found my courage and then today…” Danny shook his head in mute horror. “I see him today and I’m a frightened, broken 10-year-old again.”

Danny’s body convulsed as he began crying softly.

“So many years without the memories, without the nightmares and it all starts again,” Danny ground out as his tears turned to sobbing.

“Oh god Steve…”

Before he realized he’d done it Steve strode over to where his partner stood and gathered his best friend in his arms holding him tightly to his chest. Part of him realized it was probably the worst thing to do as his partner grappled with the memories of being sexually assaulted by a larger man but he couldn’t just stand there and let Danny fall apart by himself. The SEAL almost sighed in relief as Danny slumped against him wrapping his arms tightly around Steve’s lean frame and burying his face in Steve’s tee-shirt.

**********

“I have to see him.”

Steve jerked his head up from the bowl of oatmeal he’d been picking at and stared in shock at his partner across the table. The two men had woken up an hour ago having fallen asleep on the couch slumped against each other, Steve’s arm around Danny’s shoulders. Now they were attempting to eat breakfast but neither had much appetite.

“Why?” Steve demanded incredulously. “Why put yourself through that again?”

Danny pulled his lips in between his teeth as he formulated an answer to that question. The truth was he wasn’t entirely sure he could explain his decision. He just felt in his gut that adult Danny had to do something to defend child Danny.

“I need…I can’t really explain it. He almost destroyed me. He stole my innocence and my trust and he got away with it. I was never able to face him in court, never able to tell my side of the story except to my parents and Rachel and now you. I just…I have to face him.”

Steve shook his head decisively.

“Danny you don’t have to…”

“I do Steve! Don’t you see? I do have to face him. I have to tell that prick what he did to me.”

Steve squeezed his eyes shut unable to meet the look of determination on his friend’s face. He was terrified for Danny; terrified at what seeing Sherman once again might do to his friend. He opened his eyes and looked pleadingly at his partner.

“Do you think it would matter to him? Do you think he would care that he hurt you? Do you think you’ll get him to admit what he did and apologize? Jesus Danny he thinks the reason you’re mad at him is because he got you kicked out of Scouts.”

Danny nodded slowly as he took in a ragged breath.

“I know. I know he’s never going to admit his guilt but at least I can tell him what he did to me. Maybe if I face him now, the way I wasn’t able to as a child, maybe I’ll be able to move on from this finally.”

Steve gnawed his bottom lip pensively.

“I’m going with you.”

Danny snorted humorlessly and shook his head.

“Um, no you’re not.”

“Danny…”

“Steven! I need to face him alone. I need him to see me as a grown man who is no longer afraid of him. I need him to understand that I am now in a position where I am a threat to him – where I can use my resources to fuck up his life. I’m not sure that message will get across if my big, bad Navy SEAL partner is looming behind me giving him the glare of death.”

Steve slumped back on the chair and stuck his bottom lip out in a slight pout as he considered the situation for a moment. He looked back up at Danny.

“OK then how about this? I’ll come along but I’ll stay out of sight? I’ll just be nearby if I’m needed.”

Danny raised a critical eyebrow at Steve.

“Are you worried that I can’t handle him, that he’ll beat me up or something?”

Steve rolled his eyes in disgust and he waved one hand dismissively.

“Of course not Danny I know you can handle yourself.”

“Well then…?”

Danny’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh I see. You’re afraid I’m going to kill him.”

Steve shrugged as he dug into his oatmeal once again.

“It’s what I would do.”

**********

Sherman strode out of his hotel wearing yet another loud Hawaiian shirt, a pair of knee length orange shorts and a wide-brimmed hat. He had a large, self-satisfied grin on his face that Danny, standing several yards away, wanted to punch off. 

The older Jersey native started to walk towards a nearby double-decker bus surrounded by other tourists when he stopped dead at the sight of Danny Williams standing in the middle of the sidewalk blocking his way. Sherman swallowed heavily.

“Hi Danny,” he greeted warily.

“I want to talk to you,” Danny growled stepping forward and grabbing Sherman by the bicep and dragging him off to a more private area under a tree near the hotel. Even touching the guy by the upper arm made Danny’s stomach churn and he had to swallow heavily several times to get rid of the bile in his throat.

Danny shoved Sherman so that his back slammed against the trunk of the palm tree.

“Danny what…?” Sherman began but Danny cut him off with a wave of his hand and shoved his face into Sherman’s.

“Listen you SOB,” Danny hissed, “You can pretend all you want but you and I know that you sexually assaulted me when I was 10 years old.”

Sherman’s eyes widened in horror.

“Wh-what? I never…”

“You disgusting piece of shit!” Danny shouted attracting the attention of two tourists standing nearby. He paused a moment to take a deep breath. When he spoke again his voice was a low, menacing growl.

“How many other kids were there you bastard? How many other young lives did you destroy? Are you still going after little children?”

Sherman snorted dismissively and folded his arms on his chest. Despite his attempts to look brave, Danny could see him shaking, his face pale and beginning to sweat. 

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” the older man snapped back. “What kind of a man do you think I am?”

“The sickest!” Danny growled. “Maybe I can’t do anything about what you did to me 26 years ago but I’m a cop now and I have a lot of cop friends in New Jersey. They are going to be on you like a virus. They’re going to tear your life apart until we find something, anything that will put you in jail for the rest of your life!”

Sherman ran his tongue over his bottom lip and blinked nervously.

“Are you…are you threatening me?” he squeaked.

Danny barked out a dry laugh and took a step closer to the older man, his face inches away.

“Absolutely. I’m threatening to make your life a living hell. You’ve had too much power over innocent children for too long now. I’m about to take that away. You like assaulting people who are weaker than you? Let’s see how you enjoy it when the tables are turned and some prison inmate turns you into his bitch!”

Sherman’s bottom lip began to quiver and his eyes flooded with tears. It gave Danny a perverse pleasure to see this so called man, the person who had been the object of his nightmares for so many years as a child, become a frightened, weepy coward in front of him.

“Your ugly face haunted my dreams for years when I was a child. Now mine is going to haunt yours.”

Danny took several steps back – Sherman’s stench was starting to overwhelm him. He gave the older man a cold, feral-looking smile.

“Have a nice holiday Mike. It’s your last,” Danny announced as he turned on his heel and marched away. Danny didn’t look back but he hoped Sherman was slumped against the tree, preferably wetting his pants. 

The detective walked around the side of the hotel out of Sherman’s sight and met up with a smiling Steve. The SEAL reached out and pulled Danny into a one-armed hug.

“You’re my hero, you know that?” 

Danny swallowed convulsively as he leaned against his partner.

********

As Steve watched from the bullpen, Danny hung up his phone and buried his face in his hands. The smaller man had been in his office for an hour speaking to his parents and Steve had done his best to keep everyone away from the detective until he was finished. Now that his partner had completed his call, the Commander entered his friend’s office and closed the door softly behind him before taking a seat.

The two men sat quietly for several minutes, Danny’s face still hidden by his hands and his breath coming shallow and ragged. Finally he dropped his hands away and looked up at his partner with red-rimmed eyes. He opened his mouth to speak then shut it and shook his head helplessly.

“What did they say?” prompted Steve gently.

Danny’s hand shook as he picked up his cup of now lukewarm coffee and swallowed a large gulp. He placed the mug back down on his desk before sitting back with a sigh.

“They were shocked that I had seen him again of course and worried about how I was feeling.”

Steve nodded but stayed quiet.

“They…” Danny let out a ragged sigh. “My mother said that a friend of hers from the old neighbourhood told her years ago that there had been rumours about Sherman, gossip about him and little boys, but people couldn’t or didn’t do anything about it.”

“Jesus!” Steve hissed

Danny brought his fist up and pressed it against his lips for a moment.

“If I had come forward 26 years ago, if I had told my parents I wanted to testify…”

“Danny!” Steve barked with more force than he intended. “Don’t do this to yourself. You were a child, younger than Grace is now. You were in no position to make those sorts of decisions. You had to count on the adults to do that for you.”

Danny looked up at his friend with wide, desperate eyes.

“But if I’d…”

“If you’d what?” growled Steve in response as he climbed to his feet and began pacing the office. “If you’d testified maybe he would have gone to jail?” 

Steve stopped to stare at Danny intently. “Maybe, maybe not. The truth is you’ll never know because your parents and the other adults decided you shouldn’t go to court. Was that the right decision?” Steve threw his hands in the air in a Danny-like manner. “Who knows but it was the decision they felt was right at the time and we can’t change it and there’s no use obsessing about it. All we can do is move forward and work with the NPD to start investigating this fucker again and see if we can nail him on something.”

Danny nodded firmly then looked up to give his partner a weak smile.

“You’re right. It kills me to admit this but you’re right. But I’ve been thinking. Since there’s no Statute of Limitations on sexual assault in New Jersey maybe I should…” Danny took in a deep breath and squared his shoulders. “Maybe I should fly back there and make a complaint and see if the DA will lay a charge.”

Steve stared at his partner in shock, a myriad of emotions warring inside him. On the one hand he wanted to support Danny if this decision would help the other man find some closure – god he hated that word – but on the other…what would testifying in court about this childhood trauma do to Danny?

“What if they don’t believe you?” he asked nervously.

Danny scrubbed his hands through his hair.

“They may not but they’ll have to investigate and if they do, maybe more victims will come forward.” Danny lifted both hands, palms up. “How can I ask the cops I know to investigate this guy and try to find more victims and convince them to testify if I’m not willing to do that myself?”

Steve nodded distractedly as he began to chew lightly on one thumbnail, his eyes drifting to the floor.

Danny watched him for a moment.

“What are you thinking?”

The Commander’s gaze snapped back up to his partner’s.

“I just…I can’t help worrying about what this will do to you, especially if it goes to trial and he gets off. I also worry about what they’re going to say about you. Sherman obviously spread the false story about you being gay to keep you from going to the police and reporting what he’d done. He’d obviously decided to try to destroy you before you could destroy him.”

Danny nodded in acknowledgement as Steve continued.

“I’m not saying don’t do it Danno. If that’s what you feel you should do then I’ll support you; hell I’ll even fly to New Jersey with you if it gets to trial. But just…give it some thought ok? 

Danny nodded again as he picked up his pen and began weaving it through his fingers mindlessly.

“Yeah, ok I’ll think about it. I can’t make any decision until I tell Gracie anyway. She needs to hear about this from me before I do anything. Besides, even if I file a complaint, they aren’t likely to arrest him right away. They’ll need to do a lot of investigating before they go that route; otherwise it’s just my word against his about something that happened 26 years ago when I was a child.”

Steve nodded and leaned over the desk to give his partner’s shoulder a warm squeeze.

“We have a long way to go yet…besides, maybe they’ll find something else that will put his ass in jail.”

********

 

Chin knocked on Steve’s office door and stepped in when the Commander motioned to him.

“I got the information you wanted on Michael Sherman,” Chin said as he sat in a chair in front of Steve’s desk and typed his password into his iPad. He looked up at Steve quizzically. “Does Danny know this guy? He’s from Newark.”

Steve tipped his head slightly.

“He knows him but not well. I just…we saw him at the meth lab crime scene and I just wanted to check him out.”

Chin furrowed his brows together.

“Were you thinking he was involved in the lab? He’s only been in Hawaii for a week and there’s no evidence that he’s ever been here before.”

Steve gave Chin a fleeting smile and folded his hands on his desk.

“I just wanted to know who he is,” the Commander replied with a finality in his voice that clearly told Chin he was done answering questions. “What did you find out?”

Chin shrugged slightly and looked down at his tablet. If Steve didn’t want to tell him it was none of his business.

“Michael Dwight Sherman was born April 21, 1960 in Newark, NJ. He was an only child, parents long-since dead. He was married and divorced and had two children – both boys. They’re teenagers now. He works as a bookkeeper at a small insurance agency. He had no youth criminal record and nothing came up on him until the early 90’s.”

Steve sat forward in interest.

“What did you find?”

“I hacked into the Newark PD’s database and did some digging,” Chin gave his boss a wary look but Steve merely shrugged. He didn’t care how his team got their information as long as it didn’t hurt anyone or break any serious laws. Chin dropped his eyes back to his tablet.

“There are a few investigative reports carried out as a result of complaints to the police by parents who say Sherman had inappropriate contact with children – one in a scout group Sherman was in charge of.”

Steve swallowed heavily as felt the blood drain from his face. He picked up a pen and began squeezing it so hard Chin was worried it would snap in his hands.

“Were any charges laid?”

The Hawaiian detective shook his head and scrolled through the page on his iPad again.

“No. In two of the cases the parents dropped the charges and in the third the detectives felt they didn’t have enough evidence to charge Sherman.”

Steve stood up abruptly and began pacing the office trying to work off the rage that was building inside him.

“Was that the only time complaints of that nature were made?”

Chin cleared his throat.

“That I could find records for, yes, but we both know guys like this don’t just stop.”

Steve nodded distractedly as he glanced over at Danny’s office where the detective was working at his computer. He turned back to Chin.

“So no arrest record at all?”

“There was one arrest, five years ago. Sherman was caught with 500 milligrams of cocaine in his possession. Since it was his first arrest it was pleaded down to a misdemeanor and he paid a $2,000 fine and did 1,000 hours of community service.”

Steve considered that for a moment then turned his attention back to the older man.

“Is that it?” he asked.

“Yeah that’s all I could find in terms of arrests. I checked a couple of the surrounding states too but there was nothing. There is one interesting thing though…” The Hawaiian detective’s voice dropped away as he scrolled through his tablet. Steve folded his arms trying to stand patiently.

“Sherman was married for 10 years and had two children. His wife filed for divorce six years ago and asked for sole custody and supervised visitation. The court records are sealed so I can’t find out why she asked for that but I have to think she was worried about Sherman being around their kids. In any case it didn’t seem to matter because Sherman agreed to her demand and from what I can see he hasn’t had any contact with his children for years.”

Steve nodded slowly. It didn’t take a genius to see that the unfortunate Mrs. Sherman didn’t trust her husband. Maybe she suspected him of sexually assaulting the children. Steve turned back to Chin giving him a small smile.

“Thanks Chin. I’d appreciate it if you would wipe clean any traces of your search and not tell Danny about any of this.”

Chin raised his eyebrows slightly but nodded. It was rare for Steve to keep anything from his partner.

Steve closed the door just after Chin left the room then went over to his desk picked up the phone and dialed.

“Hey,” Steve said as soon as the other person answered the phone. “I need to meet with you today. I need you to get something for me. It’s important. Can I come see you?” Steve listened to the reply and checked his watch briefly.

“OK I’ll be there in 20 minutes.

*********

Michael Sherman was leaving Hawaii for good. What had started out as a nice vacation – the first he’d been able to afford for years what with paying child support for his two ungrateful brats – was ruined after running into Danny Williams.

Sherman stood in the security line at the Honolulu International Airport waiting for his turn to be X-rayed, searched and otherwise humiliated by TSA agents. He fumed as he thought about that Williams asshole. He’d wanted to leave the island four days ago after being threatened by Danny in front of his hotel but it would have cost too much to change his ticket. Instead he spent the rest of his vacation hanging around his room watching TV, not venturing far from his hotel for fear of running into Danny again.

Sherman snorted in derision getting a quizzical look from the person in front of him in line. He glared at them until they turned away.

He had no fucking idea what Danny’s problem was. He was a sniveling adult just as he’d been a sniveling child. OK yes, Maybe Mike shouldn’t have grabbed the boy like that after the Scouts meeting all those years ago but he’d liked Danny and really thought the boy liked him too. The way Danny kept gazing at him with such hero worship and the way the blonde boy liked to trail along after him, well Sherman just naturally assumed the boy was attracted to him. Danny might have been a bit young but if he’d just given Mike a chance he might have seen the kind of fun they could have had together but no, the kid started screaming and crying. It was a wonder that Mike had been able to get off at all with all that commotion. Then again, commotion was sometimes what turned him on.

Sherman grimaced as he thought about the way Danny fucked up his plans – both today and 26 years ago. Back then he’d had to take quick action to get Danny out of Scouts and throw suspicion on the boy before the brat could make some ridiculous charge against him. Now Williams was a cop on some big-shot Hawaiian task force and he could really mess with his life. Mike knew it was better to just get the hell off this sun-bleached rock and get home.

He shook his head in disgust as he moved forward waiting for his turn to go through the body scanner. He’d probably have to move away from Newark now. The Williams asshole had probably phoned all of his cop friends and told them to harass him or come up with some trumped up charge against him. Fuck! Why couldn’t people just leave him alone?

A TSA agent signaled to him and he stepped forward putting his suitcase up on the moving belt that would take it through the X-ray machine while walking through the scanner himself. He sighed in relief when he didn’t set it off. He moved to the end of the belt to retrieve his bag when a TSA agent came up to him.

“Is this your bag sir?”

Sherman tried not to roll his eyes and snarl “obviously!”

“Yes it is.”

“May I search it?”

Sherman snorted in disgust. The whole fucking world was against him now.

“Yeah sure. Do what you gotta do.”

The agent unzipped Sherman’s bag and began digging through it removing items as he went. Sherman shifted from one foot to the other in growing annoyance. He just wanted to fucking get on the plane and get back to civilization!

The agent picked up a square parcel wrapped in a paper bag. It was an engraved wooden box that Mike had bought in the hotel’s gift shop last night to keep his papers and stuff in. He hoped to god the dick head TSA agent didn’t scratch it.

The agent unwrapped the box and opened its lid and his eyes widened in surprise. He glanced up at Sherman.

“Does this item belong to you sir?” he asked.

Mike felt a prickle of apprehension but nodded.

“Did you pack your own suitcase?”

Sherman furrowed his brows but nodded again.

“Was it out of your sight at any time?”

Sherman shook his head and felt his heart speed up. What the hell was this about?

“Did you meet anyone who asked you to ship something back to the mainland in your suitcase?”

Sherman’s face contorted into a look of disgust.

“Of course not, I’m not an idiot.”

The agent nodded and signaled to another agent behind him.

“You’ll have to come with us sir,” he announced blandly as he shut the lid on the box and stuffed it and the rest of Sherman’s belongings back in the suitcase.

Sherman shook his head and put up his hands defensively.

“What? No! I’ll miss my plane. I just want to get the hell out of here.”

Sherman felt a firm hand on his bicep and turned to see a burly TSA agent standing behind him.

“Please come with us sir.”

*********

Tommy Harada glanced one more time through the papers in his file folder as he waited for his court-appointed client to be brought to the interview room in Halawa State Penitentiary. 

Harada hated handling drug cases – the defendants were usually such scum – and he hated defending stupid haoles most of all. And Michael Sherman was typical haole. A guy who came to the islands on vacation but figured out a way to pay for the trip by smuggling a couple of ounces of cocaine back in his suitcase. This stupid jerk didn’t even bother to try to hide it properly – just stuffed it in a wooden box and dropped it in his suitcase. He probably figured Hawaiians were so laid back no one would even bother looking.

Harada heard a door clang and looked up to watch a handcuffed, shackled Michael Sherman being led into the room. The bright orange jumpsuit that all prisoners wore did nothing to flatter Sherman who looked even more disheveled and puffy than the first time Harada had met him the night of his arrest. Harada couldn’t help the slight shiver that ran up his spine. Something about Sherman creeped him out and he couldn’t help wishing the judge hadn’t asked him to take this guy on.

Sherman was shoved roughly down in the chair by a burly guard who stepped out of the room to give lawyer and client some privacy as he watched through the small window in the door.

“How are you Mike?” Harada asked neutrally, not really interested in how the older man was doing.

“You’ve gotta get me out of here,” Sherman begged, his cuffed hands spread wide in a pleading gesture. “You gotta get me bail. They’re fucking nuts in here. Someone is going to hurt me.”

Harada shuffled through his papers while Sherman sniffled loudly. He looked up at the older man blandly.

“We tried for bail Mike but it was turned down. The judge figures if she lets you go she’ll never get you back from New Jersey.”

Sherman’s chin quivered as he fought back tears.

“Then…you gotta prove that the coke isn’t mine! It isn’t! I never saw until that airport security guy found it in my bag.”

“But it was in your bag Mike and you haven’t been able to explain to me how it got there.”

Sherman slammed his fists on the table.

“Someone planted it on me obviously!”

Harada shook his head and had to fight from rolling his eyes. This was the same line of crap Sherman had fed him when they first met. At least he wasn’t babbling on about one of the 5-0 task force cops framing him.

“OK who?” asked Harada deciding to play along.

Sherman licked his lips nervously as he pondered the question.

“Well…the hotel’s maid maybe. She had a key to get in and out of the room. She could have done it.”

Harada sighed tiredly.

“But you bought the box the night before you left Mike. The maid wasn’t back in the room until you checked out the next day.”

“Someone else could have come into the room while I was in the bathroom.”

Harada shook his head.

“Nope. The police checked the hotel’s security system. The computer shows you were the only person to enter or leave that room from 6:38 p.m. the night before you left until you checked out the next day.”

Sherman moaned in frustration and fear as he rubbed his hands over his face roughly.

“Well maybe…maybe someone came in through the balcony door.”

Harada couldn’t help the sigh of annoyance that escaped him this time.

“Be reasonable Mike. Who do you know that could scale the side of a building to your 8th floor room, enter through a locked patio door, then sneak around the room putting drugs into your packed suitcase without waking you up?”

Sherman opened and closed his mouth uselessly a few times but Harada kept talking anxious to get out of the prison and back to his office.

“Look, I think we should talk about making a deal with the DA. Right now you’re looking at a Class A felony – 20 years in prison.”

Sherman blanched at that and sunk lower in his chair.

“If I talk to the Prosecuting Attorney I could maybe get him down to 10 years. You could be out earlier with good behaviour.”

One fat tear rolled down Sherman’s face and he began shaking.

“But I didn’t do it. It’s not mine,” he mewled fearfully.

Harada shrugged as he stood and began collection his papers.

“Well the decision is yours of course. If you want to fight it we’ll take it to court but considering you have an earlier arrest for drug possession in New Jersey, your chances may not be that good.”

Harada gave Sherman what he hoped was a sympathetic look.

“Think about it Mike and give me a call when you make up your mind.”

Harada turned and walked to the heavy steel door. The guard opened it and let the lawyer out.

Mike watched him go with a sinking heart and a rising feeling of dread.

**********

Danny burst into Steve’s office on Thursday morning waving a sheet of paper and grinning from ear to ear. The Commander looked up at him expectantly.

“Sherman…Michael Sherman is in Halawa!” Danny exclaimed as he waved the sheet at Steve.

Steve’s eyes widened in surprise and he climbed to his feet to and walked over to take the paper from Danny. It was the intake record for Halawa for the last week and Sherman’s name was indeed on it. Steve looked up at Danny in surprise.

“But how? What was he arrested for?”

Danny couldn’t seem to wipe the grin off his face.

“He was caught at the airport with a couple of bags of cocaine in his suitcase. If he’s convicted he’s looking at 20 years Steven! Twenty years!” the detective chortled happily.

Steve couldn’t help but laugh along with him. He made a tisk-tisking sound with his tongue and shook his head almost sadly.

“A guy like that in Halawa Prison? They’ll eat him alive.”

Danny nodded sagely.

“Especially if they should ever find out he’s a pedophile.”

“Oh dear,” Steve replied keeping his voice carefully neutral. “That would be bad. I hope no one spills the beans.”

Danny’s grin spread impossibly wider.

“C’mon, I’m buying lunch for everyone. We have to celebrate. Let’s head to Kamekona’s and get the daily special.”

Steve laughed and slapped Danny good naturedly on the back.

“If you’re buying I’m definitely coming. This miracle might not ever happen again.”

**********

Steve stood leaning against the service window of the shrimp shack waiting for his order to be filled. He couldn’t help smiling as he looked back at his team who were sitting at a nearby picnic table chatting and laughing happily. He watched as Danny’s hands flew in all directions as he obviously told a story. 

Steve felt relief at the sight of the newly rejuvenated detective. For so many days, since they’d run into Sherman the first time, Danny had been withdrawn and pensive but now he seemed to spark to life again. As they drove over in the car a few minutes ago, Danny told Steve that even though Sherman wasn’t in jail for the crimes he committed on children, he was at least in jail – and probably would be for a long time. That was a huge relief to the blonde detective.

Steve turned as Kamekona slid the tray bearing their food order across the counter to the Commander.

“Howzit brah?” the giant Hawaiian asked with his usual happy grin. “You get what you needed from my friend the other day?”

Steve nodded as he picked up the tray. He smiled up at the Hawaiian man.

“Yeah Kami thanks. He gave me just what I needed.”

Steve turned and began walking towards his friends.

**********

Michael Sherman lay on his bunk staring blankly up at the bottom of the torn, stained mattress of the bunk above him. His cell mate Hekekia, a triad gang member, was currently in isolation for trying to stab Mike two days ago after the Jersey man refused to give him his stale bread roll.

Mike shivered. Prison was hell on earth and now that he’d decided to make a deal with the Prosecuting Attorney, he had at least 10 years of this hell ahead of him.

Sherman sat up when a guard appeared in front of his cell doors and gave him a disgusted look. The officer threw an envelope into the cell and Sherman watched it flutter to the ground.

“Someone loves you Sherman,” the guard mocked. “You’ve got mail.”

Mike scrambled out of his bunk, snatched up the envelope and ripped it open. He didn’t know who could be writing to him since he didn’t have any friends but he was grateful for the break in his monotonous day.

Sherman’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked into the envelope and saw only a small, oblong card inside. He pulled it out between two fingers. It was a Monopoly card. The famous illustration of Rich Uncle Pennybags being dragged off to jail by a cop with the words “Go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200” inscribed below it.

Sherman turned the card over to see a message neatly written in pen: “Welcome to Hawaii. Hope you enjoy your stay. DW.”

 

The end.


End file.
